Pop-Reggae

Pop-Reggae results when pop artists borrow reggae rhythms, smooth them out somewhat, and adopt a vocal style at least somewhat steeped in reggae. It can also arise when traditional reggae artists add a dash of saccharine to their mix to better appeal to the pop charts. Pop-Reggae enjoyed a brief flash of popularity in the 1980s, epitomized by Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue" -- a song that was pure pop in its style and substance, but which also had genuine reggae overtones. Grant did a stint in the '60s as a platinum-haired singer in the English pop band the Equals and hailed firmly from the pop side of the Pop-Reggae spectrum. Though the style's popularity has subsided somewhat, artists like UB40 and Ziggy Marley continue to explore the middle ground between pop and reggae.